Gerber GSx Plus User manual

GSx

plus

USER'S MANUAL

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

This document may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part,

without written permission of the copyright owner.

This document is furnished to support the GSx

plus

. In consideration of the

furnishing of the information contained in this document, the party to whom it

is given assumes its custody and control and agrees to the following:

1. The information herein contained is given in confidence, and any part

thereof shall not be copied or reproduced without written consent of

Gerber Scientific Products, Inc.

2. This document or the contents herein under no circumstances shall be used

in the manufacture or reproduction of the article shown and the delivery of

this document shall not constitute any right or license to do so.

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

GSx

plus

, Knife Mode Switching, Corner Correcting Technology, IP Plus, Gerber Mask, and GERBER EDGE are

trademarks of Gerber Scientific Products, Inc. GerberCal is a registered trademarks of Gerber Scientific

Products, Inc. 3-in-1 is a registered trademark of Boyle-Midway, Inc. HP-GL is a registered trademark of

Hewlett Packard. ScotchCal and Scotchlite are trademarks of 3M.

FCC NOTICE

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A

digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to

provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is

operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can

radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with

the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.

Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful

interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at

his own risk.

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions

from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadi-

an Department of Communications.

Le present appareil numerique n'emet pas de bruits radioelectriques depassant les

limites applicables aux appareils numeriques de la classe B prescrites dans les

Reglements sur le brouillage radioelectrique edicte par le Ministere des

Communications du Canada.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents.....................................................................................................................................3

Chapter 1: Introduction..............................................................................................................5

Description ...............................................................................................................................................5

Performance .............................................................................................................................................5

Convenience .............................................................................................................................................5

Support Information ...............................................................................................................................6

About This Manual .................................................................................................................................6

Conventions .............................................................................................................................................7

Package Contents.....................................................................................................................................7

Chapter 2: Installation................................................................................................................8

Plotter Work Area....................................................................................................................................8

Connect to the Plotter..............................................................................................................................9

Communication Parameters ..................................................................................................................9

Power Cords...........................................................................................................................................10

Power-Up Sequence ..............................................................................................................................10

Chapter 3: Set up .......................................................................................................................11

Plotter Selection .....................................................................................................................................11

Add Plotters ...........................................................................................................................................13

Delete Plotters ........................................................................................................................................13

Assign Default Plotter...........................................................................................................................14

Chapter 4: Materials and Tools ..............................................................................................15

Materials .................................................................................................................................................15

Tool Force Dial.......................................................................................................................................18

Chapter 5: Tools and tool handling.......................................................................................20

Storage.....................................................................................................................................................20

Tool Holders...........................................................................................................................................20

Pen Holder and Pens.............................................................................................................................21

Knife Holder and Blades ......................................................................................................................23

Chapter 6: Operation ................................................................................................................26

Power-Up................................................................................................................................................26

Front Panel .............................................................................................................................................26

Chapter 7: Special Diagnostics...............................................................................................31

Diagnostic Options................................................................................................................................31

Chapter 8: Error Conditions.....................................................................................................34

Chapter 9: Maintenance...........................................................................................................36

Cleaning and Lubrication.....................................................................................................................36

Fuse Replacement..................................................................................................................................38

Chapter 10: Plotter Adjustments ...........................................................................................40

Troubleshooting Guide.........................................................................................................................40

Z Axis (Tool Height) Adjustment........................................................................................................42

X Axis Belt Adjustment.........................................................................................................................45

Y Axis Backlash Adjustment................................................................................................................48

Drum End Play Adjustment ................................................................................................................50

GSx

plus

Plotter Assembly .......................................................................................................................53

5

Chapter 1:

Introduction

Description

The GSx

plus

 is a state of the art 15-inch (38.1 cm) plotter designed for use with

the OMEGA



system and other sign design systems.

Note: When the GSx

plus

is used with other sign design systems, contact the

system manufacturer to obtain a driver for the GSx

plus

.

Performance

The GSx

plus

is designed to precisely register graphics up to 50 yards (45.7 meters)

long using carbide blades for crisp, sharp cuts. It cuts up to 25% faster than

comparable plotters for rapid cutting of all but the most demanding materials

such as sandblast stencil. Gerber's exclusive Corner Correcting Technology

assures sharp, easy-to-weed corners

Able to handle complex jobs, the GSx

plus

cuts at 4.7 inches (11.9 cm) per second

(on a straight line). When used with OMEGA, the GSx

plus

uses the Plot Spooler

feature to receive and plot files while the operator continues to design at the

system.

Convenience

The GSx

plus

has many features that make it easy and convenient to use:

 Accepts any standard Gerber materials in 15-inch wide rolls.

 Draws, cuts and pounces up to 12.75 inches (32.4 cm) high. Using the

OMEGA system Panel feature, the GSx

plus

can cut text or graphics in

strips up to 96 feet (29.3 meters) long and 12.75 inches (32.4 cm) wide.

 Adjustable tool force for uniform cutting with the turn of a dial.

 Stepper motor drive for consistent performance and easy maintenance.

 On-board 4K buffer in addition to OMEGA buffers.

6

 Quick installation.

 Simple to use keypad requires minimum training

Support Information

If you require assistance, please contact your Gerber distributor or contact the

Gerber Technical Support:

phone: 800-828-5406

fax: 860-871-3862



[email protected]

www.gspinc.com



About This Manual

This manual explains the installation and operation of the GSx

plus

plotter. It

assumes the operator is familiar with the OMEGA software system. It tells you

how to assemble, install, operate, and maintain your GSx

plus

as follows:

 The "Introduction" provides information about the GSx

plus

and a list of

contents of the shipping crates.

 "Installation" contains instructions for plotter assembly and connection to

OMEGA.

 "Set Up" contains instructions for managing plotters.

 "Materials and Tools" gives information about material, loading the vinyl,

and use of the tool force dial.

 "Tools and Tool Handling" discusses procedures on using and replacing

the pen, knives, and pounce wheel.

 "Operation" provides information about plotter operation and slew key

functions.

 "Special Diagnostics" presents examples and instructions for diagnostic

tests.

 "Error Conditions" lists common error conditions and corrective

procedures.

 "Service and Maintenance" provides cleaning, lubricating, and fuse

replacement instructions.

 "Plotter Adjustments" includes a troubleshooting guide as well as

symptoms of plotter adjustment problems.

7

Conventions

The following conventions are used in this manual:

Note: A note contains important information which could affect successful

completion of a task.

CAUTION: A caution statement contains information which, if not

observed, could result in damage to the equipment.

WARNING: A warning statement contains information which, if not

observed, could result in personal injury

Package Contents

This section lists the contents of the GSx

plus

shipping container. As you unpack

the GSx

plus

plotter, inspect all items for damage that may have occurred during

shipping. Report any damage to your dealer at once. Save all packaging

materials in case it becomes necessary to transport the plotter at a future date.

The GSx

plus

package contains the following:

1

GSx

plus

plotter assembly

1 User’s Manual

1 Roll holder 1 Warranty card

1 Plotter power cord 1 Service contract

1 10 foot RS-232 cable 1 Tool Kit

2 fuses

Contents of tool kit

1 Pen holder with pen

1 Knife holder with knife

1 Tool lift washers (on tool holders)

2 Spare life washers

1 Allen wrench

1 Pair tweezers

1 Pen height gage

8

Chapter 2:

Installation

Please unpack the plotter boxes and inventory the contents before you begin to

assemble the plotter. Follow these instructions to install the GSx

plus

plotter to any

OMEGA. Installation of the GSx

plus

to other sign design systems is described

separately.

Note: Should you experience difficulty during installation of the GSx

plus

to the

OMEGA system, contact Gerber Field Service Department at 800-828-5406.

Plotter Work Area

1 Carefully remove the GSx

plus

from its packaging materials and place it

near the OMEGA system. The cable is 10 feet (3.1 meters) long, so the

plotter need not be located immediately beside the console; however, it

should be close enough so there will be no strain on the cable after

installation.

2 Place the material roll holder next to the plotter on the right side.

9

Connect to the Plotter

CAUTION: Be sure power is turned off and the power cord is

unplugged at both the OMEGA system and the plotter.

1 Insert the 9-pin connector at the end of the RS-232 cable into the 9-pin

RS-232 connector on the back of the computer system.

2 Carefully align all pins. Use the connector thumb screws to secure the

cable to the system.

3 Insert the 25-pin connector at the end of the RS-232 cable into the 25-pin

RS-232 connector on the back of the plotter.

4 Carefully align all pins. Secure the cable to the plotter with the

connector thumb screws.

Communication Parameters

If you are connecting the GSx

plus

to a system other than the OMEGA, the plotter

uses these RS-232 communication parameters:

Communication Parameters

9600 Baud

No Parity

8 Data Bits

1 Stop Bit

Xon/Xoff Flow Control

The plotter has a 25DB female connector with these pin assignments:

Pin Signal

2 Tx

3 Rx

4 RTS

5 CTS

7 Sig Gnd

All other pins are not connected.

10

Power Cords

1 Insert the female connector of the GSx

plus

plotter power cord into the

socket on the rear panel of the plotter.

2 Connect the power cords for both the OMEGA system and the GSx

plus

to a multiple outlet strip. The strip should be plugged into a standard,

grounded electrical outlet (115V +/- 10% AC, 60 Hz or 230V AC, 50

Hz).

3 Turn power on at the system and the plotter.

CAUTION: When the power is on, never try to manually move the

carriage, move the drum, rotate the tool, or force the tool up or down.

Attempting to manually move the GSx

plus

in any axis of movement

while the power is on may damage the plotter.

Power-Up Sequence

When the GSx

plus

is turned on, the following sequence occurs:

1 A short beep sounds, the Power light comes on, and the RUN CONT

and RUN SINGLE lights blink.

2 As the GSx

plus

performs self-check tests, the lights over the RUN keys

flash, and one additional beep sounds.

3 When the self-check is complete, the lights blink and the plotter beeps.

4 The plotter beeps and goes off-line. Only the power light remains on.

This is the initial setting at power-up.

Note: Rapid, continuous beeping and flashing lights may signal a self-check

error. See the "Error Conditions" section for more information.

11

Chapter 3:

Set up

After connecting the plotter to OMEGA, you will use the GQMgr program in

OMEGA to make the GSx15

plus

accessible. When using the GSx15

plus

with sign

design systems other than OMEGA, contact the system manufacturer to obtain a

driver for the GSx15

plus

, installation instructions, and setup information.

Plotter Selection

1 Open GQMgr.

2 Click Install, in the drop down menu select plotter. The Add or Delete

Plotter/Router(s) dialog box opens.

3 Click the GSx15

plus

in Available Plotter/Router(s) to highlight it.

12

4 Click the Com Port to which the plotter is connected Com 1 through 7

in the ports box.

5 Click Add. An Add – Name Device dialog box opens. Read the on line

instructions then click OK.

6 Select GSx15

plus

in the Installed Plotter/Router(s) box, then click

Preference..

Note: The default plotter is noted by an asterick to the left name in the installed

plotter list box.

7 Click Close. You will return to GQMgr.

13

8 The GSx15

plus

plotter can now be accessed through OMEGA.

Add Plotters

Multiple plotters can be added to your system. They must be added one by one.

1 Click the plotter you wish to add from the plotters list box.

2 Click the port it will be connected to.

3 Click Add. The highlighted plotter is added to the Installed

Plotter/Router(s) dialog box.

4 Click Close. You will return to GQMgr.

Note: For each plotter you add, a number is added after the plotter model

number (for example, GSx-1 for the first plotter added, GSx-2 for the second).

Delete Plotters

To remove plotters from the system

1 Open GQMgr.

2 Click Install, in the drop down menu select plotter. The Add or Delete

Plotter/Router(s) dialog box opens.

3 Select the plotter you want to delete in the Installed Plotter/Router(s)

dialog box to highlight it.

4 Click Delete. The plotter will be removed from the list.

5 Click Close. You will return to GQMgr.

14

Assign Default Plotter

A default plotter can be assigned if more than one plotter is connected to

OMEGA.

Note: There must be two or more plotter names in the Ready for Plotting

box to select a default plotter. If only one plotter is installed to the OMEGA

system, that plotter will automatically be assigned as the default plotter.

To assign a default plotter

1 Highlight the name of the desired default plotter in the Installed

Plotter/Router(s) dialog box.

2 Click Preference. An asterick will appear to the left of the plotter name.

3 Click Close. You will return to GQMgr.

15

Chapter 4:

Materials and Tools

Materials

The GSx

plus

uses the same plotting materials as all Gerber plotters. Gerber vinyl

products in high performance or intermediate grades are available in translucent,

reflective, or metallic finishes and come in a wide range of colors. Also available

are direct-cut screenprint stencil, ruby photo film, paint masking material, rubber

sandblast stencil material and heat transfer materials. Consult your Gerber

distributor for further information about available materials, colors and prices.

Always insist on Gerber authorized materials for highest quality results.

To load material

CAUTION: Gerber recommends that you load material without a tool

in the carriage to prevent damaging the knife blade.

1 Slide the roll of material to be used onto the roll holder. Pull the end of

the material away from and over the top of the roll holder toward the

plotter.

CAUTION: When power is on, the carriage spindle must be moved

only by using the slew keys. Attempts to manually move the plotter

drum, rotate or force the tool up or down will damage the plotter.

CAUTION: While power is off, center the carriage by gently pushing

toward the center of its travel. Take care to move the carriage slowly

and firmly by gripping the right end of the carriage housing, not by

gripping the carriage spindle.

CAUTION: Do not use the way shafts to lift or turn the GSx

plus

. This

will damage the system and reduce plotting accuracy.

16

2 Center the carriage spindle preferably by using the slew keys (see

"Front Panel" section) or manually, with certain precautions as outlined

here. Be sure that the carriage spindle is not located at either extreme

end of its travel and that both ends of the rubber drum can be reached

easily.

3 Open the bail arms at either end of the drum by pulling them up and

away from the drum.

4 Using the slew (arrow) keys, rotate the drum until three closely spaced

pins are visible. These three sprocket pins are used to align the material.

To feed and align material

1 Feed material under the black cam shaft and over the rubber drum. See

the illustration below.

2 Place the holes in the material over the sliding sprocket pins first.

Match the three closely spaced sprocket pins and holes.

17

3 Slide the material and the sliding sprocket to reach the fixed sprocket

and place the material over these sprocket pins.

4 Center the bail arms over the sprockets. Move the adjustable bail arm at

the rear of the plotter slightly forward or backward to accommodate

small differences in the material width. Securely close the front bail arm

first and then the rear bail arm.

Helpful hints

 When you change materials, open the bail arms and roll the material back

onto the roll. Tape the ends securely to prevent the roll from unraveling.

 Before unrolling vinyl for a job, determine how much material you need.

Check the length of the longest line in the job, or the width of an

automatically laid out sign or digitized design. Remember that if you are

plotting in the Axis Swap mode, you need to consider the height of the

job rather than its width.

 The most practical way to unroll material for a job is to use the slew keys

on the plotter. It is best to unroll more than enough material, rather than

"just enough," in case your estimate is not accurate. You may also pull

material from the roll by hand. This may be the simplest method if you

are plotting relatively small jobs.

 When you have advanced enough material for the job, feed it back

through the plotter, or otherwise position it appropriately according to

the tool start position selected from OMEGA. If you have a large quantity

of material piling up on the table, be sure to arrange the material in loose

accordion folds so it can feed easily. Make sure the material is positioned

to feed straight into the plotter rather than at an angle.

18

Tool Force Dial

The tool force dial on the front of the housing indicates the tool force setting and

the amount of tool force, or pressure that is applied to the tool during operation.

This pressure ensures uniform cuts and pen lines. Tool force can be adjusted by

turning the small knob on the end of the tool force housing, as shown in the

illustration below.

Settings

The Plotter User Reference Card at the end of this manual lists approximate tool

force settings. Be sure to refer to this list of settings when changing materials or

applications. Below are some initial suggestions.

 For drawing, start with a tool force setting of about .5. If your pen does

not make a clear dark line, you may wish to increase the tool force

setting.

 When cutting regular vinyl, set the tool force setting at 1. The knife will

not pivot at corners and will begin to cut through the material if the

pressure is set too high.

 Heavier material, such as reflective vinyl, requires increased tool force

settings.

 Worn blades require increased tool force settings.

 Before cutting, refer to the Plotter User Reference Card at the back of this

manual for suggested tool force settings for different tools and

materials. Set the tool force accordingly. If you find that different tool

force settings produce more satisfactory results with your particular

system, tools, and materials, be sure to mark the preferred settings on

your card for future use.

19

Adjustments

Several factors affect tool force and require setting changes:

 Type of material — See Plotter User Reference Card.

 Knife and tool — Drawing, cutting, and, and blade angle all affect the tool

force setting

 Blade wear — Increase tool force after several thousand cuts.

 Gerber recommends experimenting with tool force settings as well as

keeping a logbook of the settings. Refer to the Plotter User Reference Card

for guidelines.

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Gerber GSx Plus User manual

Gerber GSx Plus User manual

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